Broken Hearts
by TracyJean
Summary: When Rumplestiltskin is banished from town, most of Storybrooke is happy to see the last of him – except for one person. Every day, Henry finds his way to the town line, trying to understand why his grandfather is gone and hoping he will find a way to come home. Post-episode/AU to episode 4x12 "Heroes and Villains"


**Although I have written fan fiction on and off for 15 years, this is my first story in the Once Upon A Time fandom. I am first and foremost a Rumbelle fan (no surprise that "Skin Deep" is my favorite episode and season 4B made me ill for the most part, including a certain "relationship" which shall remain unnamed), although I do not dislike any of the other three main pairings. I have some ambitious story ideas, but I decided to start with something fairly short. This story is a post-episode to 4x12 "Heroes and Villains", picking up two days after Belle sends Rumplestiltskin across the town line and taking place over the following four days. It is written from Henry's POV. The final day turns into an AU to another season four episode (not telling which one, but you'll probably figure it out at the end). The end of this story leads directly into another story I have planned, which will be an AU to the just-mentioned unnamed season four episode.**

 **Another relationship that I like, and wish the show would feature more, is the relationship between Rumple and Henry. All the way back in season one, you could tell that Rumple was fond of Henry because he reminded him of his son – in the episode commentary for "Manhattan" on the season two DVD, Robert Carlyle and A &E said that was a conscious choice on the part of the show since they knew that Baelfire was going to be revealed to be Henry's father. I loved the conversation between Henry and Rumple in "Manhattan" when they are waiting for Emma to return from chasing down Neal and I really wish they had not deleted the scene from 4x02 when Rumple and Belle return to find Henry in the pawn shop. I could not help but weave that conversation into this story in the third section, I loved it so much, and it fits so well with what Henry is thinking and feeling in this story.**

* * *

DAY ONE  
TWO DAYS AFTER RUMPLESTILTSKIN'S BANISHMENT

That first day, he wasn't even sure how he had gotten out there. He had walked out of school without any place to go and had just started walking. One mother had withdrawn into herself again after watching her true love cross the town line with his son and his ill wife. His other mother, along with her father, was busy at work making sure there were no lasting effects from what the Snow Queen had done to the town – some people were having a hard time shaking the effects of the Spell of Shattered Sight. His grandmother was busy at home with his newborn uncle. His other grandmother was busy at the library – she supposedly had a lot to do there now that it was finally open, but he thought she was hiding, which he could understand. His other grandfather was….

Henry sighed as he leaned against the metal sign he had suddenly found himself in front of, the painted town line just a few feet beyond. He did not really know where his other grandfather was, not really. All he knew was that he was no longer in Storybrooke. The exact circumstances regarding _why_ were unknown, at least to him. There had been a lot of conversations that had suddenly stopped the moment one of the adults realized he was listening. That really was not anything new, although he had been hoping that once his memories had come back, everyone would remember that he no longer needed to be protected. He had been through more in the last couple of years than most kids went through in their entire childhood.

Seeking answers, he had gone to the most obvious source. His grandmother…or Belle – he was not sure that he really felt comfortable calling his grandfather's wife by her first name, even if she had said it was okay – had been silent for a long moment, so long that he had started to think that she had no intention of answering him. Finally, she had simply shaken her head and had said sadly, "He had to leave. He did something unforgivable."

That had thrown him. His grandparents' story from the Enchanted Forest was in his book. After everything they had gone through there, falling in love while his grandfather had been more Dark One than human, what could he have done that was so unforgivable? He had protested that they were True Love, that they could fight past whatever had happened. It was never too late for True Love. It was practically the story of his family. True Love had to be fought for. As long as you never stopped fighting….

Quickly, she had turned away from him, had whispered, "This time it is. It's just too late." He doubted that. He knew that she had turned away in an attempt to hide her tears. He thought that told him more than her soft protestation had.

"Whatever happened, Grandpa," he said softly into the breeze wafting through the trees, "no one will really tell me. I asked Grandma…Belle…she wouldn't tell me anything, but I could see how much she was hurting."

He sighed, sliding to the ground to sit cross-legged next to the sign. "Sometimes," he continued, "I think that they still haven't gotten past when I didn't have my memories, when they would send me out of the room before discussing anything. It's _so_ frustrating. You're my grandfather. I need to know what happened. I need to know why you're not here to tell me about…."

Tears glistened in his eyes and he angrily rubbed them away. He was almost 14 years old. He would not cry. "It hurts, you know," he said in a quieter tone, struggling to control his voice. "Because I didn't have my memories, I didn't realize who Dad was when he died, and when I did regain my memories, it was all messed up. The last thing I remembered was that you had died to save all of us from Pan and Dad went back to the Enchanted Forest with everyone else. Then you were alive again and Dad was dead. How had everything changed so much? I had hoped…."

He shook his head, brushing his hair back from his face. "Mom told me that you knew why I wanted to work in the shop," he admitted, a hint of guilt creeping into his voice. "She didn't know that wasn't all there was too it. Yeah, I wanted to find the author for Mom, to help her find her happy ending, to figure out some way to get her back with Robin, but I also wanted….

"I had hoped that maybe if I spent more time with you," he said, leaning his head against the metal sign post, "you would tell me more about Dad. It's weird. My entire life, the one person who could tell me about Dad was right there in front of me. I mean, Mom eventually told me a little bit about the time she spent with Dad, you know, before I was born, but she was only with him for a few months before he left and she went to jail. I think there were still some things she didn't want to tell me. Dad did tell me a few things about his life here after he left Mom, but we didn't have a lot of time before we thought Greg and Tamara had killed him. After Neverland, there was no time at all. You guys figured out that Pan had switched bodies with me, and you switched me back, but we barely had minutes before you killed Pan and Mom reversed the curse.

"You had almost 15 years with him. There are a couple of stories with Baelfire in the book – when you became the Dark One, when the Blue Fairy gave him the magic bean and he went through the portal without you, but there was more to his life than that, right? What was he like for the first 14 years of his life? What did he like to do for fun? Did he have any friends? Did you teach him how to spin? I have so many questions that I never got a chance to ask Dad and you're the only one left who can answer them."

He was silent for a long moment, just sitting in the grass watching the leaves blow in the breeze. "You spent centuries searching for Dad," he whispered hopefully. "Nothing will stop you, will it, Grandpa? You will find your way back here, right? I want you to come home."

* * *

DAY TWO

Henry had not consciously made a decision to return to the town line the next day. After breakfast at Granny's with his mother and Killian, he had just somehow found himself standing by the town sign again. Dropping to a seated position on the grass next to the sign, he pulled up a handful of grass, letting it fall from his hand back to the ground. "Hi, Grandpa," he said with a sad smile. "I didn't think I was going to come back, but I still want to talk to you. I guess this is the only place that I can do that, at least until you come home."

"No one even realizes that I came out here yesterday," he continued. "I managed to make it home before anyone got home from work. They asked me what I had done all afternoon after school, but I didn't tell them about this. I know none of them would like it. Did it ever bother you, Grandpa? Sometimes, I think that they all preferred to forget that you're my family too, especially after Dad died. A week ago, I went to the cemetery. I asked Mom if maybe I should ask you to come with me, but the look on her face…I don't know. Maybe she was surprised that I would suggest it. I know Killian was."

He gave a wry chuckle. "It's weird," he said. "Killian told me that he could tell me some stories about Dad, but…is it bad that I think he only said that because he's trying to get on my good side because he's dating my mom?" He laughed again, shaking his head. "I know you would probably never believe that Killian would do something out of the goodness of his heart. You don't like Killian. I can't blame you for that, especially after what he did to Grandma that night at the town line. Dad also told me a little bit about your past with Killian when we were on our way back from New York. It is a little strange to think that he was involved with, well, I guess Milah was my grandmother, too, even though she died centuries ago. As if my family tree wasn't twisted enough with Regina being both my mom and my step-great grandmother and three of my grandparents barely looking old enough to be my parents."

He laughed for a few minutes at that, leaning against the town sign as he tried to get his mirth under control. "Of course," he finally continued with a grin, "you have to figure that someone who is the grandson of both Snow White and Rumplestiltskin would have a few, um, strange branches on the family tree. Dad was a few hundred years older than Mom, after all, and Mom looks the same age as her parents. If that's not strange, I don't know what is.

"But Killian…I guess I do want to hear his stories sometime, but I want to hear yours more," he admitted. "You know, I saw that ball in your shop and I recognized it from one of the stories in my book. It was Dad's, wasn't it? You've kept it for three hundred years, so I know it had to mean a lot to you. I thought about asking you about it the other day, but…." He swallowed hard, trying again to hold back tears. "I guess I figured we'd have all the time in the world to talk, to really get to know each other.

"That sounds a little funny. I've known you my entire life – you're even the one who arranged for Mom to adopt me - but that was as Mr. Gold before the curse broke," he explained. "I got to spend a lot of time with Gramps while Mom and Gram were stuck in the Enchanted Forest and I found out how different David Nolan was from Prince Charming." He laughed. "I know, it doesn't really seem like there are a lot of differences between Mr. Gold and Rumplestiltskin to most people, but after New York, you're not just either of them to me anymore. You're my grandpa and I wanted to get to know you better as that. I just don't know how anymore. I don't even know if there is a way you can contact me from wherever you are, if communications are blocked by the Snow Queen's curse as well."

He rested his elbows on his knees, propping his chin on his hands. "There's nobody here I can talk to," he said. "Talking about you upsets Grandma too much, even though she still lives in your house and I know she goes by the shop every day, even though it hasn't been open. I worry – it seems like she is keeping everything inside. Last night, I went by the library after I left the town line and Mom was there…Regina, I mean. She was upset about you being forced to leave, but Grandma didn't say _anything_ , just stood there and let Mom rant. I guess there are some things that Mom could tell me, but she was a little vague when I asked her at dinner last night. You taught her, right? I suppose she doesn't want to talk about when she was the Evil Queen too much, so it probably makes sense that she would be reluctant to talk about what you were like back in the Enchanted Forest."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing Henry to glance up at the sky with a worried glance. "It looks like it is going to rain," he said, standing up and brushing dirt and grass from the back of his pants. "Maybe I should get back to town. I don't have an umbrella…."

He paused, something just beyond the town line having caught his eye. Cautiously, he stepped closer to the line, trying to make out what it was hanging from the tree next to the road. This curse was different, he knew. Whereas he had been able to come and go without any issues before since he had been born outside of Storybrooke, this new curse had changed things. The Snow Queen's intention had been to keep Elsa and his mother from being able to leave town. That meant no one could leave now, even those like him, his mother, and his grandfather who had been able to leave before. Well, as his grandfather and Robin now proved, they _could_ technically leave – they just couldn't come back.

His toes just barely touching the painted line, careful not to lean forward too far and lose his balance, he squinted, trying to focus on the object he had seen on the tree. Suddenly, he broke into a wide grin. It looked like a tie! Not just any tie, but he was fairly certain it was one of his grandfather's ties, presumably the one he had been wearing the day he was banished. He knew it! He wouldn't be able to see anything from the other side of the town line, but the tie would let his grandfather know when he had reached Storybrooke. He was coming home. If there was a way to get around the Snow Queen's curse, his grandfather would find it. He knew he would.

"I promise, Grandpa," he said as a light rain began to fall. "I'll come back to the town line every day. One of these days, maybe you'll be on the other side of the line, waiting to come home. I'll have to figure out a way to leave a note on the other side of the line so that you'll know I'm here when you come back."

Feeling more hopeful than he had at any time in the last few days, he turned away from the line and started walking swiftly back to town, ignoring the rain that got heavier the further away from the town line he got. Grandpa was coming home. Now, he just had to figure out a way to let him know that at least one person would welcome him back.

* * *

DAY THREE

It was later the next day when Henry finally made it to the town line. The rain that had started the previous day had continued until this morning, which had given him time to think about something new he had learned the previous night. He knew it was something he wasn't supposed to know. Everyone was still trying to protect him, but he needed to know the truth, even if it made him hate his grandfather.

The night before, he had laid in bed unable to sleep, listening to the rain ping off his bedroom window, thinking about the discussion he'd overheard as he had been getting ready for bed. Maybe discussion was too mild a word. At times, it had seemed like it was going to degenerate into an argument complete with yelling before someone would look towards the loft, as if remembering that he was in the apartment, but he had heard enough to understand some of what his grandmother had meant when she'd called what his grandfather had done 'unforgivable.'

The funny thing about it, he had decided after lying in bed for several hours turning the conversation over in his mind, was that one of the people who had nearly been destroyed by what his grandfather had done with the hat also had seemed to be the most willing to forgive.

It had started out as a basic brainstorming session between his mother, Killian and his grandparents about how to open the hat again to release the fairies that were trapped inside. His mom had immediately wanted to call his other grandmother, figuring that she might have an idea – or be able to find something that his grandfather had written down – about how the hat worked.

Henry had smothered a laugh when he had heard that. It was almost like they thought his grandfather was some overconfident villain from the movies who left clues to his plans everywhere, almost daring the heroes to stop him. He knew it wasn't that simple. First, his grandfather was too smart for that. The few times Rumplestiltskin had been caught – at least according to his book – had been when he had _wanted_ to be caught. Second, from what little he knew about the circumstances immediately surrounding his grandfather's banishment, it had been an accident that his grandmother had figured out what he was up to. He did not know exactly how, but he knew it had something to do with that strange metal gauntlet he had knocked off the top of the cabinet in the back of the shop.

He had mentally beat himself up for a bit after he had overheard a mention of the gauntlet in a conversation between all of his grandparents and both his mothers the morning after the banishment. If he had not have been clumsy enough to knock all that stuff off the cabinet, then his grandmother would not have found the gauntlet. If she had not found it, then whatever it was that had led her to figure out what his grandfather was doing would not have happened.

Another idea that his mom had tossed out was using her skills at finding people to figure out where his grandfather had gone and force him to fix what he had done. That was where the discussion had begun to get heated as Killian had started to argue against that idea. Before his grandmother had played peacemaker and managed to settle things down, Killian had angrily reminded his mother that the fairies being forced into the hat had been his grandfather's second choice after he had failed to force her into it.

That had floored Henry. He had not known that his mother had almost ended up trapped in the hat, although he thought he had an idea about how it had happened. He knew his mom had become increasingly upset about her magic getting out of control and that she had approached his grandfather seeking a way to get rid of it. Had his grandfather taken advantage of that to try to force his mother into the hat?

He had spent the rest of the night, and part of the morning as well, pondering that question, but he kept coming back to his mom's response to Killian's argument. "As inexperienced as I am and as unpredictable as my magic has been," she had said, "do you think that I could have stood up to Gold if he had really wanted me trapped in that hat?" Killian had tried to point out how angry his grandfather had been when his mom had refused to enter the room where the hat had been waiting for her, but she had refused to listen. Angry he might have been, she had pointed out, but ultimately he had not forced her to do it after she had changed her mind.

"Mom was right, wasn't she?" he said with a heavy sigh as he stood by the town line, pushing around some loose gravel with his foot. "If you had really wanted to, you could have forced her into the hat, right? It probably would have been child's play for you. The fairies were easier because you already hated them. You don't really hate Mom, do you? I mean, if it weren't for you, she wouldn't have become the Savior. And Dad loved her…."

He looked out blankly to the horizon, lost in his thoughts. "I know I promised yesterday, but I almost didn't come back today," he admitted quietly. "I was so angry when I heard Mom and Killian arguing about the hat last night. I was angry at you. I guess I still am, but I think that maybe I started to understand the more I thought about it.

"You feel things a lot, don't you? You wouldn't have spent three hundred years trying to get to Dad if you didn't. Sometimes, I think almost everyone forgets about that, or they don't _want_ to think about it. You're just the Dark One to them, and no one thinks of the Dark One as a person with feelings. I know you are, and I know you have to have been feeling a lot recently. This morning, I remembered what you told me about pain when I'd wanted you to give me back my false memories, to make me forget my other Mom. It wasn't just centuries worth of pain you were talking about, was it? You were thinking about Dad dying and how the Wicked Witch had kept you locked up for a year and forced you to do things you didn't want to do. You could relate to how much I was hurting because you were hurting, too."

He drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, blinking back tears. "I guess I really understand now why you refused to give me back my fake memories," he said. "Have you ever thought about what it would be like, being able to just forget centuries' worth of pain? It must have occurred to you once or twice. Of course, after what happened when Killian shot Grandma, you knew what I was asking for wasn't that simple."

The corners of his mouth turned upwards in a slight smile. "I guess I should thank you, though," he continued. "I think anyone else would have just said 'no,' patted me on the head, and sent me on my way, but you didn't. You took the time to explain to me why you were saying 'no'. I think you were trying to tell me something when you told me that it was a gradual process, learning from the pain. I wish I had known what you were really saying then. I wish I could have helped you. Dad would have wanted me to. Maybe then…"

This time, he didn't try to blink back the tears. "I told you I almost didn't come back," he said, "but I remembered that you still need someone to be there for you. I know it's Grandma you really need, but I don't think she's ready yet. She's still too upset. So I'm going to be here until she is. I promise, Grandpa. No matter what."

* * *

DAY FOUR

Henry had not made it out to the town line yet. Now that things were starting to settle down – as much as they ever did in Storybrooke – his grandparents had decided they wanted to have a family day. His grandfather had the day off from work and the sun had come back out, so his grandparents had taken him to the park with his uncle. It hadn't been too bad, he had to admit, except for his grandmother deciding he should learn how to change a diaper. That had been gross. So had been the milk Neal had decided to spit up on his shoulder. His grandparents had gotten a kick out of it, though, telling him that now he was better prepared for future babysitting duties.

He had finally skipped out just before dinner, telling his grandparents that he was spending the night at his other mother's house. That was technically true, although she wasn't expecting him until later that evening. Deciding there was something that he needed to do before he went out to the town line and then on to his mother's, he had stopped at the library.

Stepping into the library, he didn't immediately see his grandmother. She wasn't behind the circulation desk. In fact, it did not seem at first as if there was anyone in the library at all. Walking along the shelves, he finally found her in the next to the last aisle holding onto a shelf, resting her head against a row of books. Concerned, he jogged the last few feet to her, tentatively reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder. "Grandma?"

When she lifted her head and turned to look at him, Henry was surprised. He had half expected her to be crying, thinking she was alone in the library. She didn't look upset, however. She looked ill, almost like she was on the verge of passing out.

"Oh, Henry," she said tentatively as she pushed away from the shelf she was leaning against, shaking slightly, "I didn't realize you were here."

"I just got here," he said in a worried tone. "I had wanted to ask you something, but never mind…maybe you should sit down. You don't look very well."

"I guess I'm just not feeling well this evening," she admitted after a moment, letting him lead her back towards the circulation desk. "So tell me, what did you want to ask me?"

Henry shook his head as they went behind the desk. "It doesn't matter," he said. He was not about to ask for the keys to the pawn shop right now. He wanted to see if he could find something in the pawn shop, like magical paper where the ink would not wash off in the rain or something, so that he could write a note to his grandfather that he would leave for him to find on the other side of the town line. He had a tentative idea about how he was going to leave the note as well, hoping to borrow a bow and arrow from one of the Merry Men so that he could shoot it over the town line and pin it the same tree where the tie had been left. His grandfather would be sure to see it there.

He grabbed one of the chairs behind the desk, pulling it over so that she could sit down. "Can I get you anything?" he asked. "Maybe something to settle your stomach?"

"It's not my stomach," she said with a shake of her head, pressing a hand to her chest. "It's almost like what I felt the day…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll be fine in a bit."

"Are you sure, Grandma? Since there's nobody here, maybe you should just close up and go home. I didn't see Grandpa's – I mean, your car outside, so I could walk you home if you want," he offered.

She managed a week smile, patting his hand. "I'll be fine," she said. "I'm feeling better already and…."

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by the muted sound of a cell phone ringing. Glancing around, he spied her purse sitting under the desk at the other end. Walking over, he knelt down and dug through her purse, pulling out the ringing phone. He stood, intending to take the phone over to her, when he noticed the name that appeared on the phone's screen. "What?" he muttered to himself.

Forgetting his intention to hand the phone over to his grandmother, he flipped the phone open and answered it himself. "Robin?" he asked. He glanced over at his grandmother, the look of surprise in her eyes matching his own.

* * *

 **To be continued in "Healing Hearts"**


End file.
